Bo's Day Out
by P.A.R
Summary: What happens when you send a boggart out to retrieve a lost child? Orion and Katlin are about to find out.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my Christmas present to you, folks. Merry Christmas. Know that this was written totally for fun. There isn't one serious, nail biting moment involved. My entire goal here was strictly to entertain you and, although there are some concepts in here that you may not be familiar with yet, as that they haven't been discussed in other stories yet, they should not confuse you too much. And if they do, feel free to ask questions.

The story is in three parts and will post one chapter over the next three days.

If you're looking for a time line, this is approximately two years after the children came to live with Orion and Katlin.

And as always,

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: The original stuff is mine. Everything else ain't.

**BO'S DAY OUT**

**Chapter One**

Katlin scrambled around the kitchen, trying still to sort out everything and get everyone off to their proper destinations.

Summers, she had quickly decided, were designed solely to allow children to get even with their parents for sending them to school for the rest of the year. Payback for those precious, peaceful days parents were allowed while someone else looked after everything under the age of 17.

"Thomas!"

Tall and lankey as any 16 year old boy, Katlin's oldest son lumbered into the kitchen. "Yeah?" Came the standard answer to any summons.

"Where is your sister?"

"More specifics." He grumbled, as any good 16 year male would to the question. "I got two of the nasty things after all."

"Katy!" Katlin specified with a growing lack of patience.

"Oh." Thomas replied flatly. "No idea." He added, grabbing for a piece of bread off the counter. "Not my day to watch her."

Katlin grabbed the boy's hand as he made for the slice of bread. Great Magic, did this child ever stop eating?! "News flash, my eldest pride and joy." Katlin informed him. "Your father and I had a meeting last week. We voted that every day is now your day to watch her."

Thomas glared back at his surrogate mother. "Missed that in the Daily Prophet, Mum." He stated, quickly making a successful grab for the bread slice with his other hand as Katlin released the one she was still holding. "Can't expect me to know what my job duties are if they're not properly posted."

Katlin pointed to the stairs. "Will you just go upstairs and tell her to hurry up, please? I need to get to town today and she's suppose to go with me. Now shake it, mister!"

With a typical 16 year old response of rolled eyes, Thomas headed for the stairs.

Katlin looked up as a horn sounded in the driveway.

"Justin!" She called. "Get Lucy! The Henderson's are here to pick you up for the party!"

A streak of something child-shaped ran past her. "Lucy!" It screamed. "Come on!"

Feet clamored down the stairs and Katlin barely got a locking charm on the door before both kids were out it.

"Mum!" Came the collective call from the foyer in dismay.

Katlin entered the foyer, tapping her wand on her arm. "Inspection." She stated formally.

Both kids immediately fell into a line and looked up expectantly. Justin, dressed in what he considered the height of formal attire, wore a pair of fairly decent pants that were not jeans and a pull over shirt, while Lucy, at 14 and starting to assert her feminine side, was dressed in a...well...dress.

"You have your presents?" She ask.

Both produced brightly wrapped packages for inspection. While the one Lucy, her eldest daughter, held was wrapped with a precision any highbrow retail store gift-wrapping service would envy, the one Justin held out looked more like her four year old daughter had had a go at it. Something that did not escape the teenaged girl's assessing eye.

"What did you do to it, Just?" She ask. "Let Bo wrap it?"

Justin clasp his present protectively to him, out from under his older sister's critical eye. "Robert isn't going to care about no old wrapping paper." He informed her imperiously. "It's the gift inside that counts. Only girls care about something like what the wrapping looks like." He added, putting an significant amount of stress on the word 'girls' that sounded like he felt he would later have to wash his mouth out for the offense of even saying the word.

"It's fine." Katlin assured him as he glanced up at her for concurrence. Quickly tapping the door knob, she just stuffed her wand back up her sleeve and opened the door as a slightly shorter, heavy set woman was raising her hand to knock on it.

"Oh!" The newcomer stated in surprise. "Sorry, Katlin. George thinks sitting in the driveway blowing the horn is the proper way to call people."

Katlin gave her a smile. "It's OK, Marjorie." She assured her. "All men think that."

The woman turned her attention to the two kids. "All ready to go?"  
The two were already half out the door, off to join the already filled car of their friends. Lucy demurely as a 14 year old girl could, seated herself in the back seated area with her other female friends, while Justin vaulted the back tailgate section of the station wagon, climbing over several other boys in order to get to where he wanted to be.

"Don't worry a thing about them." the woman stated, noting Katlin's watchful stare. "We'll look after them and have them back before dark."

Katlin gave her another small smile and nodded as she watched the woman head down the stairs and back to the car to presumably rescue her husband from several of the kids trying to climb into his lap to drive.

'Probably told them he'd let them, too.' Katlin mused as she watched the woman climb back into the car.

Paul and Marjorie Williams were as natural at being parents, Katlin felt, as she was at being a witch. They just seemed to know instinctively what to do, whether it was with their own six children or someone else's.

While for her, having had the children for just into the second year, each day seemed to be a new day of just how hard raising children really was, she thought with a small frown as she stepped back inside.

'And it's another new day', she contemplated as she was greeted by her oldest coming down the stairs looking anything but happy.

"Where's your sister?" Katlin ask.

"She's not in her room, Mum." Thomas replied as he hurried past her, headed in the direction of the kitchen once more.

A hand grabbed his collar and held him in place. "Did it occur to you to check anywhere else?" Katlin ask.

The teenager stopped with a loud, exaggerated sigh. "No, ma'am."

"Well, now it has." Katlin replied sweetly. "Go look in the other's rooms. You know how she likes to roam."

"Mum!" Thomas wailed. "I haven't had breakfast yet and the guys are waiting!"

"Then they can wait a little longer. Since they've already started they should be getting pretty good at it. Now go look, please."

Thomas trudged up the stairs with an air that matched his disgruntled state.

Five minutes later, Thomas was back in the kitchen, rushing up next to Katlin as he grabbed several slices of bread.

"Nope." Came the report as he began layering the first slice with jam.

Katlin looked down at him. "What do you mean 'nope'? What sort of answer is 'nope'?"

"A pretty good one considering you didn't ask a question."

"Thomas, do you want to see your friends at all today?"

The 16 year old turned a seriously questioning stare to her as he gauged the authenticity of the threat while still managing to slap another piece of bread on top of the one in his hand and shove a large portion of it in his mouth.

"I fooked roun' upfairs ike eww tol ma too." Came the muffled response. "E's ot fair."

Katlin grabbed the sandwich out of his hands and leaned down to face him. "Can I have that once more?" She ask. "In English this time!"

Thomas swallowed hard. "I didn't see her." He replied, coughing slightly as he reached for a glass of milk left on the counter.

"Oh for magic's sake!" Katlin stated, giving up in frustration. "I'll go look myself. And you'd best be here when I get back, young man!"

Thomas simply rolled his eyes in answer as he quickly reached for another piece of bread, happy to be left alone to continue his feeding frenzy for the morning. And like any good 16 year-old , he ate like he knew he wasn't likely to see food again until at least noon, a good three hours away, and he wanted to remember what it looked and tasted like until then.

Several minutes later Thomas heard footsteps hurrying down the stairs. "Sommmmebbbbody's in trouble." He chimed happily, imagining Katlin had found Katy hiding somewhere upstairs and the toddler had been sent scurrying by Katlin.

With a broad grin on his face, Thomas turned to the kitchen door, ready to meet his errant sister.

"So, where's she find ya', squir...?" But he stopped short as he met his mother's anxious face instead.

"I didn't!" Katlin stated. "I looked all over the floor. In every room. I called for her...everything." Katlin looked about the room quickly. "Did you see her at all this morning?"

"Mum, she's around somewhere." Thomas answered, taking up the role he had become so familiar with of the older man looking after those under his care. "Now, I saw her in the hallway earlier, so she's in the house somewhere, surely?"

But Katlin was already heading for the foyer. "Bo!"

Instantly the tower of dark robes appeared in the foyer. Looking about, it quickly settled its attention on Katlin, beginning to make several gestures when Katlin grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Bo, where's Katy?"

The boggart stopped abruptly and stared down at the anxious face before him. Pulling his other hand up, he made a quick gesture.

"If I knew, would I be asking?!"

"Mum!"

The shout from the other room sent Katlin running. What else could possibly go wrong this morning?

Katlin entered the room to find her eldest son staring at a corner of the room. She almost ask what was wrong until the scene answered the question for her. A large jar of Floo Powder lay on its side on the carpet, and a thin line trailed from the open jar over to the fireplace.

"Ohhhhh, not good." Thomas muttered.

Katlin was already heading back to the foyer at a run.

"Bo! Bo, come here. Right NOW!"

The boggart reappeared immediately, stopping Katlin as she nearly ran into him in the doorway.

"Bo, Katy got into the Floo Powder..."

"...again." Came the helpful insertion as Thomas crossed over to them. Fortunately, the last time the whole scenario had ended with them finding Katy in the corner of the same room, playing with her new-found toy.

But such did not seem to be the case this time.

"Bo," Katlin started again, "Katy got into the Floo Powder and used it on the fire. Can you track her?"

The boggart considered the request for a moment, then made a quick gesture in the air.

"What do you mean you can't leave the house?" Katlin stated, trying to control her voice with little success. "Bo, my daughter is,,,,,,who knows where...alone! She's barely FOUR YEARS OLD! I don't particularly care about territorial issues, I just want her found! Now!"

The boggart pulled back slightly, then abruptly vanished.

Thomas walked up to his anxious mother, staring still at the overturned jar of Floo powder.

"Maybe we ought to call dad?" He offered. "Maybe the guys at the ministry can help find her."

Katlin stood for a few seconds more staring at the last clue to her daughter's whereabouts, then turned and headed back to the foyer.

**-----------------------------------------------------------**

A few minutes later Orion was standing in the front foyer, trying to make sense out of the whole story and his wife's subsequent actions in response to it.

"What do you mean you sent Bo to look for her?"

Katlin paused. "Just that." She stated finally. "I sent Bo out to find her."

Orion stared back at his wife in disbelief. "You sent a three year old out to look for a four year old?"

Katlin paused again, giving her husband's words serious consideration. "Well," she stated slowly, "I hadn't thought of it that way."

"But that is in essence what you're telling me." His previous anxiety over his youngest child's apparent disappearance doubling at the thought.

"Now, he's not completely incompetent, Orion."

"And he's rarely been outside of the walls of this estate either, Katlin. And to my knowledge, he's never been sent out on his own before without a specific destination."

A sudden thought struck Katlin. "Wait a minute. Bo can't have left the estate on his own. You told me so yourself. He can only go out with someone else."

"Unless I tell him he can go out or he is ordered to leave."

"But I can't order him." Katlin defended quickly after a moments thought.

"Yes, you can." Orion countered. "I told Bo when you moved in here he was to obey you. It was a way to help you feel a bit more comfortable around him if you felt you had some control over him."

"But you never told me that!"

"Well, it didn't seem necessary after that one time. You two got along just fine."

"Well, can't you just call him back?" Katlin ask.

Orion shook his head. "If he's found her, I would rather he not leave her alone again. And I don't want to risk his trying to apparate her back to the house. Bo still isn't that good at apparating small objects that move around a lot. And if I call him back, he may not understand I want him to come back with Katy. He may think I want just him and leave her behind."

Katlin sighed quietly as she stared up at her husband. "He's not an idiot, Orion. And I feel better at least knowing he's out there looking for her, or that he may have already found her and she isn't alone."

Orion started to say something to try and explain to Katlin again why her feelings of confidence in the boggart was seriously misplaced, but quickly cut the thought off. Thinking things were well in hand with Bo out looking for Katy was keeping her calm and focused, which is what was needed at the moment.

"All right." He stated instead. "I'll go back to the office and explain the situation to Orin. I'm sure the department can lend a hand in trying to locate her. Shouldn't take too long." He promised, kissing her quickly on the forehead before he disapparated.

**-------------------------------------------------------------**

Several miles inside London, in a small back alleyway, a small child sat huddled on a stairway leading to the back door of a local store.

Katy had absolutely no idea what to do. She hadn't expected the floo dust to send her here...wherever 'here' was.

She had just wanted to go to the Williams' party with Justin and Lucy. The two had talked about nothing else for days now. Katy had sat leaning over the table as she watched each wrap their presents, trying to imagine all the things the two older children were chattering about. Games, cake, food, cake, lots of other children to play with, cake, ice cream, and cake.

It sounded like heaven to a four year old. Cake, cake, and more cake. And not a parent in sight to say 'That's enough now'.

What did grown-ups know anyway?

But somehow something had gone very, very, very wrong, and now she was sitting not at her fabled table loaded down with several delicious, brightly decorated cakes for her to choose from, but in a dim, cold, wet alleyway, seriously wishing she had put her plan into action after her mum had fed her breakfast.

The child gave a small sniff not only from the fear that was threatening to overwhelm her but against the cold that was nipping at her exposed face and hands.

What was she suppose to do?

"All I want is to go home." She quietly whispered a fervent prayer to the sky above her.

Much to her surprise and delight, the answer to her prayer came in the form of a tower of tall dark robes that materialized miraculously out of thin air right in front of her.

Her brilliant blue eyes lit with a delight so stunning it practically drove away the dimness of the alleyway.

"Bo!" The four-year-old cried in delight and worshiped thanks. "You found me!"

The boggart braced himself as the tiny body threw itself headlong into him.

For centuries, Bo had always held to one solid rule in his existence. Touching was to be kept to a strict minimum! And absolutely only when necessary! Surely that wasn't too much to ask for.

But as hard as he tried to impress this on those he was connected to, these creatures seemed to have an inborn need for physical contact. And to them, the more, the better.

His current family was certainly no exception to that rule, and every exception to his own.

The two adults were bad enough. Put them in a room together and it was a physical contact festival.

But the smaller ones!

They were impossible! Try as he might, he had finally resigned himself to the fact the smaller creatures simply couldn't grasp the simple concept of his rules. Passing by him in the hallway the older ones would always slap him on the arm in greeting, as though it was necessary for them to physically acknowledge him by way of simply saying 'hi'.

The older female child was something of an enigma to Bo. She was forever seeking him out with some tale about herself and another of her kind, almost always male, and some problem between them. And for Bo, although the stories were usually quite entertaining and a source of interest for him, they unfortunately usually ended in tears and required a lot of physical contact.

But over the past few years, he had actually, surprisingly, found himself not minding the contact quite so much. The older creatures usually kept to the rules and kept the touching down to the 'only when necessary' standard, with a few rare occasions when Bo couldn't discern any 'necessary' in the contact. For some unknown reason, out of the blue, one of the adults would simply grab hold of him and lavish praise on him for some simple task he had preformed. (He had already resigned himself to an overindulging display of such eager touching upon returning with the child, if the female adult's emotional state was anything to go by. He had long ago discovered that the more emotional these creatures were when they made a request of him, the more touching was likely to be involved upon completion of said task.)

And for the most part, as stated, the adults were fairly reserved on this matter.

But the smaller ones had no concept of personal boundaries that he could discern. For them, a day couldn't seem to go by that at least one of them wasn't trying to corner him for a good long hug.

He had tried to no end to impress on his channeler that this, to him, simply was not necessary behavior.

All he had ever gotten for his efforts was a shrug and the comment, 'They love you'.

They needed to do a lot less of this 'love' thing, as far as he was concerned.

But, as said, over the years, he found touching not to grate on him quite as much. It wasn't the same as joining with his host or with his channeler, nor did it bring with it the same level of satisfaction for him. But the contact was interesting, and it seemed to translate into a certain level of caring, depending on the contact, how it was delivered, how long it lasted, who instigated it, the occasion, and if the creatures involved were of the same sex or not.

Currently Bo was beginning to wonder if the smallest creature of his family was ever going to let go of him, or if he would have to apparate her home still clamped tightly about his lower half.

Bo gave the creature a small soft trill to get her attention. A sound that always elicited a smile from her for some reason.

Dutifully, Katy looked up at her hero. "I'm so glad you came, Bo." She stated quickly. "I was beginning to think I would be lost forever!" She added with a four-year-old's simple belief in what 'forever' encompassed. But a frown quickly took over her features as she tilted her head slightly, still looking up at him. "Are Mummy and Daddy really mad?"

Bo shook his head.

"No?"

Bo made a quick gesture in the air, already knowing the futility in it, but willing to try anyway.

But the result was much what he expected.

An angry foot stomped the pavement. "Ohhhhhhh! Why can't daddy make it so you can talk! He can do anything. Why can't he let you talk!?"

Bo simply shook his head.

"Well then," the four-year-old reasoned out, well knowing she had to keep her questions 'yes' or 'no' when talking to the boggart, "am I gonna be in trouble when we get home?" She ask tentatively.

Bo paused for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I understand." She stated in a grown up sounding voice. "This is like the tree thing with Justin, when he had that acts-dent. Mummy and daddy were real worried. But when they saw he was OK, they got real mad, cause daddy said he wasn't 'pose to climb that tree. So I'll bet they're real worried right now."

Bo quickly nodded.

"But as soon as I get home, they're gonna be real mad."

Bo nodded again, but much slower this time.

Katy reached up and took the boggart's hand. "Ok. Like daddy always says, 'might as well face mummy head on. Best to get it over with'."

"My daddy used to say the exact same thing." A voice stated from the front of the alleyway.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Just as always,

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Ummmm..., actually, since it contains no original characters from the book series, nor are any mentioned by name..., as a matter of fact, it is mine. Past that I suppose anything that vaguely references anything in the Harry Potter series is not mine.

**BO'S DAY OUT**

**Chapter Two**

Katy took the immediate route of any good four-year-old and quickly put something much larger than she was between herself and the unknown voice.

In this case, Bo.

Out of the shadows created by the street lamps in the front of the alleyway, a small figure stepped into the open area.

"Now what's a young girl like you doing out here in a dark alleyway all by yourself?"

Katy wrapped two small arms around Bo's legs, two tiny fists grabbing tightly onto the material under them. "Bo?"

The tiny voice sounded very scared, although Bo couldn't understand why. The man didn't seem to mean any harm. In fact, he seemed interested in their situation.

"And what are you doing hanging about with this...thing?" the man ask, indicating Bo's towering form with a finger waving about. "What is this thing anyway?"

"This is Bo." Katy supplied helpfully.

"Well then..., Bo," the man stated, coming a good deal closer than Bo thought was necessary, "why don't you go on about your business and I'll see this little lady gets back to her mommy and daddy safely."

The boggart regarded the man in front of him carefully. The man wasn't magical in any way, and his channeler always stated magic could not be done in front of non-magical people.

So what was he suppose to do?

The man came closer. Close enough this time to reach out and take hold of the boggart's arm.

Being touched by a member of his family was one thing. But Bo absolutely could not tolerate being touched by someone he didn't know. And that of non-magical people was absolutely the worst touch he knew.

Bo immediately drew back, taking Katy with him. Unfortunately, that didn't dissuade the man from moving with them.

"Look here," he stated again, "there's nothin' to be bothered about. I know the area, and I can get the little lady back to her family quick as you like. So why don't you just bugger off or I might have to call the police. And between the two of us, I think my story will carry more weight than a walking ghost who can't keep his sheets clean."

Police!

Bo knew about police. His channeler even had a few friends that were what he called 'police'. Henry Murlow was a 'police'. He would come by the house sometimes. He was always fun. And always entertaining.

All right then. That settled that problem. The man wanted 'police', and Bo knew a 'police' person.

A second later, the man disappeared.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------**

Henry Murlow sat at his desk reading over a report when a small pop alerted him to what others might consider a slightly unusual occurrence. Simultaneously, a man dressed in jeans and a plain pullover shirt appeared in the chair in front of his desk.

Murlow dropped the pencil he was holding on his desk and leaned back in his chair so he could reach into his desk drawer and pull out a form.

Apparently bloody Black was at it again. But he knew the Unspeakable agent well enough over the past many years to know he wouldn't apparate someone directly into his office without cause. But this one didn't appear to come with the usual note attacked to the front of the shirt, and, to top off the surprise, he was conscious and appeared coherent. So it was going to take a little detective work to find out what the man was about. And if nothing came of a little Q&A, he'd just lock the blighter up until he could get a hold of Black or Bale and find out what the story was.

"Well, 'ello." Murlow stated, looking over the new arrival as he leaned over the form now on his desk. "And what might your name be, Sunshine?"

The man was looking about the room he was in in utter bewilderment. But at the question he quickly turned to the man leaning over the desk studying him with a very critical eye. "Where am I?"

The man behind the desk put pencil to paper. "Right. Would that be the first or last name?"

The man in the pullover shirt had gone back to staring about the office, but again turned back to the man behind the desk when a question was put to him.

"What am I doing here? I was in an alleyway a few seconds ago." he ask quickly.

Murlow gave the man a kind smile. "Right you are, Sunshine. Probably the last thing you remember before the alcohol got to your brain. Things go a bit fuzzy then, did they?" Black was always good for backing up the alcohol story with a good memory spell...or whatever he called them. Last thing the person seemed to remember was things going fuzzy, then 'waking up' at the station house.

But the man shook his head. "No. I remember being in an alleyway. Headed home. Then suddenly I encounter this...this lunatic dressed like a dirty ghost with a little girl. Then suddenly I'm here."

Murlow shook his head. "Wow! Whatever you were drinking, mate, I hope you remember what the barkeep called them. I'd like to give it a try."

The man stood up. "I'm sober as a judge! And what's more...I know my rights! Now I want to know where I am!"

Murlow mirrored the man's action, with the exception that he towered over the man's shorter frame by a good eight inches.

"Now listen up, boy-o." he stated in a quiet, controlled voice, "and I'll explain a few things to you. First of all, where you are is London Middleway police station. And as for your rights, you have all the same rights right now as my pet hamster. You can eat, you can sleep, and you can do your business as needed. Past that, your rights are to sit down, shut up, and answer questions. Should you choose not to do so, we just might feel inclined to withhold your hamster chow until you feel more talkative. All right?"

The man sat back down.

Murlow sank back slowly into his chair.

It was going to be a very long afternoon.

**--------------------------------------------------------------**

Orion sat before Bale's desk, having laid the whole story out for his superior with a few necessary omissions.

"So what we have," Bale summarized, "is a four year old female child roaming about without supervision."

"What we have is a lost four year old." Orion corrected.

"Panner. Morton." Bale called.

Two other agents appeared instantly in Bale's office.

"Yes, Sir." They quickly stated in unison.

Bale directed his wand tip towards Orion as he turned back to a file opened on his desk before him. "Black here has misplaced his four year old. Go sort it out for him, lads."

"Righto." The taller one answered while the other turned to Orion.

"Here, do you want to help, or might you be wanting to go keep an eye on the rest of your lot?"

"Lost the four year old, Black?" The other clicked his tongue at him. "Now them just ain't good parentin' skills, mate."

"Have you ever tried keeping a tab on a four year old while watching a eight, thirteen, fourteen, and sixteen year old?"

"Got me a wife for that." Panner replied.

"So have I." Orion pointed out, leaving the comment at that. It wasn't unknown around the department at large that Orion was married, but the details were sketchy at best. After a few polite inquiries, most got the message that the agent's private life was going to be kept just that, and any further delving into the matter was quickly dropped.

"Right." Morton pointed out. "But see, your missus works, while a proper wife stays at home, watchin' the kiddies. That's what wives are for."

Orion frowned at the man. "Why you aren't married eludes me." He stated in a flat tone.

"Standards are to high." Came the quick reply.

Orion simply shook his head as he headed out the door with the two men.

But before they got out of the department, a small thin woman came running up after them.

"Mr. Black! Mr. Black!"

Orion turned back to the woman, who nearly collided with his back.

"What is it, Connie?"

The woman took a moment to catch her breath. "I'm so glad to find you. There's a call for you at the front desk. Henry Murlow with the London Middleway police station. He said it was urgent he talk to you."

Orion frowned for a moment, but then started putting the pieces together. Henry worked for the London inner city police squad, which did not rule out that the call could have something to do about his missing daughter!

Orion left the other standing in the hallway as he sprinted all the way to the front desk of the department, where phone calls came in from the department's muggle contacts.

Orion nearly sailed into the desk as he grabbed the handset off the desk.

"Henry!?"

"Ah, there you are, Black." Murlow stated amiably. "Good heavens, man. You sound like you ran a marathon."

"Is this about my daughter?" Orion quickly ask.

"Daughter?" Came the confused question. "No daughters I know of, mate. Unless you have one that's about 35, male, and looks like my hamster's rear-end."

"What?"

Murlow sighed quietly. "Got a drop-in tonight. Assumed it was from one of you lot."

'Drop-ins' were what Murlow referred to as any person who was apparated into his office, with or without warning.

Orion shook his head, trying to sort out the conversation that was not going the way he had planned.

"Henry, I'm not on tonight. Maybe one of the other lads did send him. I can check later, but right now..."

"Oh, he's definitely from your neck of the woods, mate." Murlow cut in quickly. "Pop in here about thirty minutes ago, nice and tightlipped. But I had a little chat with him about being cooperative and all and how nice it would be if we all worked together, and suddenly he starts telling me this story about running into some weirdo dressed up in dirty black robes, leading a small female child about the back alleys of upper London. Next thing he claims to remember is being in my office. That's not your MO, mate, but I figured maybe you might know what's up."

Dirty black robes and a small female child were about all Orion remembered hearing. And his mind instantly when to two possibilities.

One, the dirty black robes was Bo. Which was very, very good.

Two, the dirty black robes was a Deatheater, which was very, very, very bad.

Either way, they had a small female child with them.

"Henry, can you hold him there for a few minutes? Me and the lads would like a few moments of his time."

**-----------------------------------------------------------**

Less than ten minutes later Orion, Panner, and Morton apparated into Murlow's office.

The detective didn't so much as raise an eyebrow at the new arrivals.

"That was quick."

"Not as quick as it could've been." Panner replied in a flat, irritated voice. "Black here had to make a stop first and have a nice chit-chat with the boys in the brewing department."

By this time the man sitting in front of Murlow's desk had taken in enough of the sights. "Here, what's all this? Who are these...?"  
That was as far as the man got when Orion reached out and, grabbing a handful of his hair, forced his head back and shoved a vial of clear liquid into his mouth.

"Be a smart boy and drink that for me, will you?" He stated, yanking the vial back out of the man's mouth and stuffing it back in his coat pocket.

The man sputtered several times and coughed for nearly a full half minute before finally quieting down. The after result of which was the man sitting in the chair with a completely blank expression.

"Good boy." Orion stated, moving to stand in front of the man. "Feel more like answering some questions now, do we?"

The man gave a very slow but definite nod.

Orion slapped him lightly on the cheek. "Thought you might."

"Oy!" Murlow spoke up. "I wish you'd stop shoving things down my suspects throat's, Black! Takes days to sort them out."

Orion turned back to the detective behind him. "Honestly, Henry." He replied, turning back to the man in the chair with a cheerful smile. "Little Veritaserum never did anyone any harm."

"Your crazy potions do muggles plenty harm, Black. And I've spoken to Bale about your using them."

"Right!" Panner spoke up quickly, turning to his fellow agent as he clapped him on the shoulder. "You're gonna get sent home with a note, you are!"

Orion ignored him as he turned back to Murlow. "This...man...," he stated slowly, "may just know where my missing daughter is. Right now, I assure you, I don't care if that serum fries what little there is left of his brain. As long as he lasts long enough to answer a few questions."

Murlow frowned at the agent as he seated himself on his desk and waited to see what the interrogation would bring. One thing he knew for sure. The man wouldn't be where he was if he was day one innocent. He'd just have to let Black have his time if he was going to find out what the fool did to land him in his current situation.

"All right then, mate," Orion stated, leaning down until he was eye level with the man, "let's see what you've been up to. Went for a bit of a walk, did we?"

The man nodded stiffly.

"And where did we go?"

"Weeeeeent to tha bar."

"What bar?"

"Shhhhhack's bar...on ninth."

"There's no Shack's bar on ninth." Murlow piped up.

"Jack's." Panner supplied, making a small circle in the air in front of him. "Account for the slur. It helps in the translation." Panner shook his head as he turned back to the proceedings. "Serum does a right number on the language skills, it does."

"Jack's bar?" Orion verified with the man, who slowly nodded. "Bit early to be starting, isn't it?"

"Maybe he hadn't finished yet?" Morton offered.

"Man hasssssss a right ta' pinth when 'e wants one." The man slurred out.

"Or five...or twelve." Morton answered, waving a hand in front of his face several times to try and ward off the smell.

Orion ignored the comment and went on. "And then?"

The man swayed slightly, a silly grin on his face. "Went to go look for some fun."

"Whoa!" Panner stated, holding both hands up in front of him. "I do not need to hear about Romeo here's night on the town."

"Then go stand in the hall." Orion stated before quickly turning back to the man. "Went to look for a bit of fun?"

The man nodded. "Found it too. Real cutie shhhhhhe wassss. Smmmmmmall, big bluesssh eyessssss, nice brown haaaaair. Cuush as a buuuuuuuutton."

Orion frowned at the discription. "How old?" He ask.

The man gave a lame shrug. "Sixthhhh...maybe."

Orion heard three distinct sounds behind him. This type never went over well in either department.

"All right." Orion went on, his jaw clenched so tightly it hurt. "Then what?"

The man gave them a strange sort of stare. "Shhhhhe had commm...comph...com...somes wiff her."

Orion frowned. "Someone with her? Who?"

The man shrugged again. "Someoens early fur Halloweeeeeen."

"Halloween?"

The man leaned into him, speaking in a low voice. "Dressshed up like a ghost." The man suddenly started laughing. "A big dirrry ghost."

Orion's earlier fears came back to the forefront. A big dirty ghost. Again, the man could be describing Bo or a Deatheater dressed up in their typical black robes.

Orion thought for several seconds about how to distinguish between the two.

"Did the ghost talk?" He decided quickly.

"Not much'a chance. Saw 'em, says 'hi', wound up here."

Big help.

"Did the girl seem afraid of the ghost?" Orion tried again.

The man paused for a moment. "Just seems 'fraid."

Orion sighed as he thought again. "How tall was the ghost?"

"Ohhhhhhh!" The man leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. "He was a tall one, he was."

"How tall?" Orion pressed on. "Seven, eight feet tall?"

The man shook his head. "Ohhhhhh...taller than that. Twelve feet tall he was!"

Orion shook his head again. That wasn't the way to go.

"Had a funny names though...fer a ghost." The man slurred out.

Orion's head snapped up.

"Little kid called him...somethin' like...Bop? Bip? Bap?"

"Bo!?" Orion quickly supplied.

"That's it!" The man quickly piped up. "Bo!" But he quickly shook his head. "S'not a goods name fer a ghost."

Orion almost fell to the floor in relief.

The three left Murlow with any further questioning of the man's past exploits, fairly certain what he would get from the Veritaserum would be enough to keep the man in custody for quite a while.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, the three agents headed for the last location the man had stated he could remember. A short alleyway in the heart of London's Middleway.

**Q&A**

_Folks, this is a very long explanation. If you really don't care why Bo has such an aversion to being touched, I advise you skip this entirely._

Silverfox:

**Bo-fic! Yay!  
Trousers that are not jeans? What is that? Oh wait, I think I ought to have some somewhere ... ;)  
Why doesn't Bo like touch? He seems curious top experience other things and three year olds are usually rather cuddly as far as I know.  
And for some reason I'm imagining the Auror office sending out a missing add for a four year old girl and a bogart. "If you have any information concerning their whereabouts, please contact the Unspeakables." ;)  
It's a wonderful Christmas present, Christkind. Thank you!**

You're very welcome, Dear. I'm glad you like my little present.

Well, I'm sort of distinguishing here between what Justin usually wears, jeans, and a pair of dress pants. Or as close as you can get with an eleven year old boy.

That is a very good question, Dear. And one that is actually addressed much later in Family Ties. And again, not as mysterious as it seems. But as that you ask, I'll give you a really big heads up on everyone else. After reading this, you will be seriously ahead of the game here.

A little recap here. Remember, Bo does not come from our 'realm', so-to-speak. He existed before he was called by Orion's family many generations back, but only as a form of non-corporeal magic. He was (and to an extent still is) a form of pure magic, that exists as a sentient being. Now, in his own 'realm', Bo is non-corporeal. He has no body, and therefore, no physical limitations. The physical world, for him, does not exist. He can see it. He can move around in it. But he can't interact with it.

Now, here is where it gets a little sticky. I always say Bo doesn't come from our 'realm', so-to-speak. The point I try to make each time is that Bo does live in this world. He is a part of it, as much as he can be. But he can't touch our world. In his own form, he can't interact with it or anything in it. He can manipulate things, but only by means of magic. He can't, say, pick up a cup. But he could move it from a counter to a table by using magic. It's sort of a catch 22 situation, but he's comfortable with it. For him, it's just the way things are...or were.

Now, in all of this, understand that not only can Bo not touch anything in his natural state, nor can anything touch him...unless by magic.

Now skip forward to the present.

You have a non-corporeal being, who has lived who knows how long, suddenly dropped into a corporeal body, and forced to live in a very physical world. Suddenly, not only can he touch things, but things can touch him.

For Bo, this is simply not the natural order of things, and he's none to comfortable with any of it.

Hence, his strong aversion to being touched. He just really, really, really dislikes it. Remember back in In The Family Way, when Bo came out of the house as a dog? When he was darting around as the two younger boys chased him, dodging their attempts to grab him, he wasn't just playing a game. He was seriously trying to avoid being touched!

Bo LOVES new things, Dear, as long as they keep their distance until he's more sure of them.

I wouldn't know about the cuddly child thing, Dear. I avoid children at all costs. PAR is not a child person.

Well, that would be one way to go about it! But Orin prefers to take a much more direct approach. Send someone out, get the job done, have them report back.

I like the new name. It's starting to grow on me.

Again, thank you, Dear. So glad you like the present.

All reviews are as of 12/26/2007.

And remember,

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with peace and joy.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry I missed the last time, folks. Just been very busy.

But as always,

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Once more, all the characters are mine, the story, plot, and ensuing action, are mine, all things related to the Harry Potter series, no matter how trivially referenced, are not mine.

**BO'S DAY OUT**

**Chapter Three**

"You shoun't have ought to done that, Bo." Young Katy was chastising her would be rescuer. "Daddy's gonna be real mad you did magic on a muggle."

Bo sat on the steps Katy had previously occupied, a low trill coming from under his hood as he stared at the four year old standing before him, hands firmly planted on her hips and a stern stare in her bright blue eyes.

"You gonna be in trouble somethin' awful when we get home."

Bo gave another soft trill.

"I'm sorry you're gonna be in trouble, Bo." Katy tried to soften the blow. "And I'll tell daddy that you only sent that man away because you thought he was going to hurt you. If I tell him that, I'm sure he won't be nearly as mad, OK?"

Bo wasn't so sure his Channeler would understand or care about circumstances.

"Maybe we outta start for home now." Katy added. The truth was, she had missed breakfast and it was now getting on towards lunch time and she was getting very hungry.

But Bo, having listened to all the wise four year old had to say, was not the least bit keen on returning to home just yet. From his experience, people tended to be very angry at something to start out with, which, according to the young child, was currently him, but over time would become a good deal less angry. So going home right now was definitely not a good idea.

And things were fine now. The adult female had only told him to 'find' the child. She hadn't said anything about when to return. And he had found the child, and she was with him, and he could simply watch over her for a few hours and then take her home, when things were not likely to be quite so...angry.

This, to Bo, sounded like a perfectly good solution to his present problem.

A tug on his hand brought his attention back to the small female.

"Bo, 'm hungry!" Katy complained when the boggart didn't make any immediate move towards taking them home.

Hungry children, Bo had learned long ago, were insistent things. And the hungrier they got, the more insistent they became. Leaning down, Bo opened his robe covered hand. In his palm sat a small, plain donut.

Katy's eyes widened and she jumped with delight. "Chocolate!" She cried happily.

Bo closed his hand and opened it again. A chocolate donut now sat in his palm which Katy quickly grabbed and stuffed in her mouth.

"Fhank you, Bo." She said past a mouthful of chocolate donut.

One problem solved, Katy quickly moved on to the next.

"It's cold here." She stated, grabbing the boggart's hand. "Let's find somewhere warmer."

But seeing the direction she was headed in, Bo quickly pulled back on her hand.

Outside the alleyway there were a lot of people.

A lot of non-magical people.

Katy looked back at the boggart. "Whatza matter, Bo?" She ask.

The boggart shook his head quickly.

"Oh, come on." Katy stated, pulling hard on his hand. "It's OK."

The pull met with firm resistance.

Katy turned back to Bo, who again shook his head.

The four year old quickly assumed the position of hands on hips again as she stared up at her rescuer. "Bo! Your not acting like much of a boggart!" She stated. "You're suppose to frighten people, not be afraid of them."

Be that as it may, Bo had some very definite ideas about leaving the alleyway. Gesturing to his young charge to follow him, Bo lured her back in the alleyway a bit further. Then, standing her so she faced the back wall, he raised his hand and instantly a small play house, much like her one at home, appeared in the alleyway, complete with a small cozy fire inside.

With great flourish Bo waved to it.

Katy studied the small, brightly painted blue house for a moment, but then turned back to the boggart. "It's very nice, Bo." She stated sincerely. "But mummy and daddy are gonna be really worried. Maybe we should start for home. And I ain't got no more powder, and ap'ratting makes my tummy feel funny, so we hafta walk. And it's a really loooong way home."

The boggart gave a quiet sigh, then nodded. There was simply no way around this for him. Turning back in the direction of the small playhouse, it instantly vanished.

Bo sighed quietly again as Katy took his hand and led him towards the alleyway. This was not going the way he had planned at all. But she was right. She had no Floo Powder and he knew all to well what Katy meant by something making her tummy feel funny. That would most likely ended in a great deal of unpleasantness, especially seeing as the child had just eaten a large donut.

But there was still that situation of how angry the adults would be. So, in fact, he was in no hurry to get back to the house. And his Channeler's female had not said 'when' to bring the child back. Only to find her, which he had done.

Bo started to look at the 'walking' thing from a whole different angle. Maybe walking wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Plus, as a large bonus as far as he was concerned, he was outside! Something he rarely got to do. He almost never got to go outside the estate on his own. And when he did go outside the estate grounds, it was usually to do something connected with his Channeler's work, so he didn't have a lot of time to look around at things. But now he was outside, on his own, and all he had to do was watch over the little one until they were home.

Yes, walking seemed like not just the only way to get home, but the best.

Problem was, Bo had no idea where home was from there.

Oh well. It wasn't like he would get tired any time soon, and if the smaller one did, he could always carry her.

As they approached the front of the alleyway, Katy suddenly stopped and turned back to her protector.

"Bo, you're gonna have ta' do somethin' about the way you look." She stated, her four year old wisdom coming to the forefront again. "We can't go out on the street with you looking like you do."

Bo gave another soft sigh. Glancing out at the street he watched as a young man of about twenty walked past the alleyway opening, taking no notice of the two figures still standing in the shadows. A dark light suddenly enveloped the boggart's form and when it faded, a perfect duplicate of the young man stood in its place.

Katy gave the change a nod of approval. "That'll work better than your real form." She stated. "People might stare otherwise."

With a brief pause to look over his new form, Bo finally dutifully allowed himself to be all but dragged out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk.

The boggart instantly cringed. People! And lots of them. And not a magical one in the lot that he could sense. And they were jostling everything around them, including him.

Bo quickly directed the small one to the side, closer to the buildings where less people seemed to be.

Katy turned to look up at him. "I'm sorry, Bo." She apologized. "I know you don't like to be touched very much. We'll stay near the buildings and that way you won't get bumped into too much."

Bo looked down at his small ward, a small frown creasing his borrowed brow. Well now, if she understood his aversion to touching, why did she insist on doing it so much? But he simply shook his head. The smaller ones were impossible to figure out. His best course of action had always been to simply wait for them to get older. Things were much easier then.

Katy tightened her grip on the boggart's hand as Bo allowed himself to be directed where they should go. But that, to Bo, wasn't such a bad thing really. Now that he had found the little one, he didn't want to risk losing her again.

The walk down the street proved to be very enlightening. It was very different from when he went out with his Host or his Channeler. There was nothing specific for him to concentrate on other than the small child pulling at his hand and observing the things around him for a change. And it was all terribly interesting, walking down a street...or more accurately, being pulled down a street, with no agenda past trying to get to a place he had no idea of how to get to.

Lost in his observations of the things around him, Bo nearly stumbled over Katy as she stopped in front of a store window.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!" Came the small cry of delight. "Look, Bo!"

Bo turned his attention to whatever had attracted his young ward's attention. In front of them was a window with an array of toys prominently set up for display. But the part of the display that had Katy's attention was a small plush toy bird, colored a brilliant blue color.

"Isn't it pretty, Bo?" Katy inquired, her two small hands plastered against the glass of the store window. "I wish I had one of those!"

Bo stared at his young ward for a few seconds, then turned his attention to the toy in the window. Well, this was an easy problem to solve.

An instant later the little bird disappeared out of the display and Bo gave a short, happy trill as he held out his hands, holding the newly acquired plush toy out for examination.

If he expected his act to get any sort of praise, Bo couldn't have been more wrong. Hands once again on hips, Katy looked up at him with a serious stare.

"Bo!" She stated. "You can't do that. That's stealing!"

The boggart looked startled for a moment, then quizzical, then finally shook his head and held the plush toy out again to his young ward. But Katy remained as she was.

"No, Bo." She stated firmly. "It's not right. You have to put it back."

The boggart gave an exasperated sigh and crouched down in front of the young child, meeting her firm stare with his own questioning one.

"Daddy says if you get things by magic, that's wrong." She explained. "And ap' rating things out of stores without paying for them is the same as stealing. You have to put it back."

With one more sigh, the toy disappeared from the boggart's hands, reappearing inside in its former spot.

Turning back to the store display, Bo seemed to consider the situation for a moment more before turning back to his young charge. Holding out his hand, he opened it before her, displaying another chocolate donut.

With lunch time approaching, and having been walking around for what seemed like forever, Katy immediately reached for her favorite treat, only to have the boggart snatch it back at the last minute and with his other hand, ticked a finger back and forth in front of her.

Katy considered the meaning with a deep frown, watching as the boggart pointed to his hand, then to the display window, then wagged his finger in front of her again.

Understanding lit the little girl's expression. "Oh, I see!" She stated with a giggle. "Bo, that's not the same thing."

The boggart gave her a very puzzled stare.

Katy laughed again. "You didn't steal the donut." She said with a happy, expectant smile. "You just made it. If you made it, that's not stealing."

Bo remained crouched in front of the child for several minutes, working the problem out in his mind. But finally he gave her a satisfied nod.

"Good." Katy replied, looking at his closed hand. "Can I have my donut now? I'm hungry."  
Bo held the donut out to her again, which in the blink of an eye went from his hand to her mouth, nearly the whole thing stuffed in in one bite. Standing up again, Bo turned his attention again to the window display. For what seemed to the small child to be an impossibly long time, he simply stood staring in the window until the little girl tugged insistently on his hand.

"We have ta' go, Bo." She said. "Mommy and daddy are probably past the mad part by now and they'll be just worried."

The boggart turned to her, then took one last look in the window. Pulling his hand free, he crouched down again in front of her. Holding out his hands out, palms down, he slowly turned them over, and in an instant the small plush toy bird appeared in his hands.

Katy gave him a very disapproving stare. "Bo...," she stated, turning back to the display window. But her reprimand died on her lips as she stared in the window at the small plush toy bird still sitting in its place among the other displayed items. Turning back to the boggart, Katy considered the offered toy again, then quickly grabbed it out of his hands and hugged it to her with a soft squeal of delight.

"You are SO clever!" Katy praised him. "I didn't know you could do that!"

The boggart gave a soft questioning trill.

"Oh, I knew you could make some things." She replied. "Like making donuts appear. But I never knew you could make things like you make donuts...out of nothing."

The lips curved into a small smile.

Katy beamed up at him as she squeezed the toy tightly to her chest. "Thank you, Bo." She praised him again. "I love it sooooo much." She added, squeezing the little toy tighter.

The smile remained as Katy reached out again and took his hand. "Come on then. Maybe we can find someone who knows how to get home."

Bo gave a small sigh, but the smile remained as he followed his ward down the street again, doing his best to avoid any potential collisions.

Several more blocks down the street, Bo suddenly stopped in mid-stride. Something pulled at him. A familiar feeling that made him want to positively run after it, trilling for joy.

Pulling at Katy's hand, Bo gave an insistent tug as he pointed down a side street.

Katy turned to the boggart with a questioning stare. "What is it, Bo?" She ask. "Did you find the way home?"

The boggart quickly nodded. If this feeling wasn't the way home, it would at least take him to the person who could get them there.

Katy gave him a broad smile. "Oh good. I was getting awfully tired. Come on then." She stated, pulling on Bo's hand and leading them off in the direction he had indicated.

**------------------------------------------------------------------**

Three hours into the search, on a trail that had led them down what he felt certain was nearly every back alleyway and street in Mid-London, Orion suddenly heard a tiny voice cry out from behind him.

"Daddy!"

Orion never thought he's ever be so happy to hear that word as he turned about. But his delight instantly dissolved as he met the scene behind him.

Standing behind him was four year old Katy, tugging insistently on the hand of someone he didn't at first recognize at all. But as he watched, the figure paused as it approached the three Unspeakables, then instantly shifted to first a werewolf, then a rather stern looking woman with her hair pulled back in a tight bun.

"Oh bloody hell." He whispered. "What's he doing walking around doing things like that?"

Thankfully the street they were on wasn't overly crowded. And no one seemed to notice as two wands covertly, but instantly came up behind him.

"Here, don't worry, mate." Morton stated. "Just an old boggart. Easy enough to sort out."

Panner had his wand already trained on his target. "Here! And that's a blasted good turn out of my fifth year Magical Practicals teacher, that is." He stated with a frown. "Right old cow, she was."

Orion's hand snapped about the wand before the man even said the first word of the spell.

"Panner! That's Bo."

Both wands snapped back down without further prompting.

"Here!" Morton stated, a slight stutter in his words. "Bale didn't say nothin' 'bout us having to bung about with you're crazy boggart."

"Come on, Morton." Orion stated with a small smile. "It's just an old boggart."

"No it ain't." The man replied, pointing his wand at the figure. "That's you're crazy family pet. Heard stories 'bout him, we have."

None of this surprised Orion in the least. It was common enough knowledge his family had a boggart in the house. The given story was that the boggart was something of a pet and rather harmless, if not just a slight bit eccentric. Neither man had any clue as to the true nature of the creature they were about to deal with, but each was just as equally uneasy about facing it.

"Now look here, Black," Panner stated, "what sort of fun and games do you think we here for?"

Orion tried to stop the man from making the comment, but it was too late. Instantly the boggart let go of Katy's hand as he clasp his hands together in front of him.

"Bo, wait!" Orion called.

But it was too late. Bo quickly grabbed the child's hand next to him and both instantly disappeared.

"Now what?" Morton asked as Orion sighed, dropping his head to his chest, shaking it slightly.

With another, louder sigh, Orion raised his head again and met the other man's questioning stare. "He thinks its a game." He replied dismally.

It was going to be a very, very, very long afternoon.

-----------------------------------------------------------

For the next three hours Orion used every tracking spell he had ever learned, coerced two more agents into helping in the search, and eventually had to resign himself to the fact that he had definitely not 'won' the game.

Where ever Bo had disappeared off to, he had done an excellent job of covering his tracks. And as he knew from many of the boggart's 'sulks', when Bo didn't want to be found, he wasn't going to be.

But it had been several hours since he last apparated home to check with Katlin, and he had best return to give her an update before she started hunting him down.

**-----------------------------------------------------------**

Orion returned home expecting to have to calm down a frantic Katlin. He decided to start with telling her that Katy was still with Bo, and therefore in no immediate danger. But even so, despite that night coming on and Bale had turned out ten additional agents to go looking for the small child through London's streets, Katlin was sure to be fit to be tied by now.

Apparating into the front yard instead of the foyer as usual, Orion started up the steps, getting his story ready to reassure Katlin as quickly as possible. Fourteen agents were currently working to find the two, and as soon as something turned up, they would let them know.

But as soon as he opened the door a jubilant Katy came running into the foyer.

"Daddy! Daddy!" The four-year-old cried with joy, launching herself into her surrogate father's arms.

A perfectly calm Katlin followed a few seconds later.

"We're suppose be getting ready for supper, poppet." She reminded her daughter.

The small child slid reluctantly out of Orion's arms and headed off to wash up for supper.

"How long has she been back?" Orion ask as soon as the child disappeared.

"A few hours."

"A few hours?"

Katlin favored him with a small, knowing smile. "Well, Bo said the game was very boring, even by his standards. They waited for their new playmates to follow them, but they never did. So he finally just went ahead and brought her home."

Orion stood for several moments simply staring at his wife. "But why didn't you call into the office and let Orin know?" He ask.

Katlin just shook her head. "Because Bo said that would be cheating. Telling you were they were. And he was very insistent that you were having fun, and that you had brought a lot of others in to play as well. And he didn't want to spoil your fun." She added. "It was really very considerate of him. Not to want to ruin the game for you."

Orion clenched his teeth behind a small, tight smile. First he would call in and let Orin know to call off the search.

Then he was going to have one very serious talk with a certain boggart.

**Q&A**

Silverfox:

**LOL! Bo sure knows how to keep the police happy.**  
**I did consider that he's originally pure magic, but somehow expected him to have been in 'our world' long enough to have become used to tough. Besides what level of consciousness, if any, did he have before? Was he a power or an actual entity? (Oh dear, this is going much deeper into who Bo is than I expected when I originally asked.)  
I don't have much first hand experience with that age group either. Most of the children I've interacted with were at least six years old. Still, I got the impression that anything below that is cute and cuddly when not being 'independent'.  
Maybe I should explain here that Christkind (verbatim Christ-child) is who we get instead of Santa. She's usually depicted as a blond girl, though unlike Santa she is never actually seen. She also doesn't have reindeer and doesn't come through the chimney ... most likely. It isn't actually explained how she gets into the house.**

As mentioned in the story, Bo likes 'police'. But then, Bo likes most of his family's muggle friends. He especially likes Charlie, because he knows him best.

He's used to touch to a degree, and he does tolerate touch from his Host and Channeler fairly well. But remember that Bo has only had a corporeal body for a few years. Orion's father gave it to Bo back when Orion was only ten or so. As that Orion is now pushing the backside of forty, Bo has only been 'corporeal' to the rest of us for about 30 years. Not much time to a being that marks time by waiting for his problems to 'grow older'. And also, Bo doesn't actually interact with people a lot. Even in Family Relations, he never really interacted with the group. He guarded them, watched over them, protected them, and rescued them when needed, but he didn't 'socialize' a lot.

Oh! There's a good question! What level of consciousness did he have before?

Well, fast and simple, Dear, (because this is actually dealt with in depth in Family Ties), Bo was a sentient being before Orion's family called him, and he had self-awareness. Was he an entity or a power? Depends on how you look at it and how you define each. If by 'entity' you mean 'corporeal', then no, he had no physical form before he was called.

Sorry. If it isn't over the age of 16, can communicate fairly well, and has some sense of independence, I generally have no contact with them. (I would like to emphasize the word generally to all of my readers below the age of 16!)

Always happy to learn something new about other cultures. And here I thought Santa Clause was universal. Shows what I know. But I'm also the first to stand up and say Americans, for being a country of immigrants, are woefully ignorant of anything outside their own borders.

But it is a lovely custom, Dear.

MasterLupin:

**I didn't know Bo didn't like to be touched, I wouldn't have guessed it from him running out as a dog and playing catch with children. Hmm, what will Bo do now?**

Well, as pointed out before, there was a lot more to that 'game' than it appeared. The children saw it as a friendly dog playing 'catch'. To Bo it was 'let's see what this all about without actually allowing ourselves to be touched'. Bo's jumping and dodging about, while appearing to just be part of the game, were actually his very real attempts to avoid being touched. The fact he let them ever touch him is simply his seeing no way out of it.

What will he do now? What he thinks is best, Dear.

All reviews as of 12/29/2007.

And remember;

My life has a superb cast. But I can't figure out the plot.


End file.
